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Martina Cookies

"Perfect little shortbread cookies. Dip them in chocolate and top with nuts, coconut, and crushed candy canes. Not too sweet and a great Christmas cookie! Freezes well and dough can be made a day or two ahead. These are good plain, or you can melt some chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, or white) and dip one end of the cookie. You can then dip the chocolate end in chopped nuts, crushed candy canes, coconut, jimmies, or decorating sugar. Or, add a little grated orange peel or chopped candied ginger to the chocolate when you melt it for another great flavor. Place on waxed paper to harden."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 4 ingredients
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Martina Cookies

Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Martina Cookies

60 cookies
Prep15 min
Cook10 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

618Calories
13 gProtein
13 gFat
108 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the vanilla

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, sugar):

  1. Raisinfits better
  2. Vanillathe original
  3. Figfits less well
  4. Coconutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.